KINETICS AND STEREOCHEMISTRY OF ELECTRON-TRANSFER REACTIONS OF NITROBENZENE DERIVATIVES ON MERCURY-ELECTRODES IN THE PRESENCE OF ADSORBED ALIPHATIC-ALCOHOLS

Electrochemical reactions of anions of ortho-, meta-, para-nitrobenzoic acids and 3-nitrophtalic acid were studied on mercury electrodes. The measurements were carried out in aqueous solution in the presence of inhibitors: n-butanol, n-pentanol, n-hexanol, n-octanol, and n-decanol under conditions of total electrode surface coverage by alcohol molecules. A detailed kinetic study concerned one-electron reduction of anions of para-nitrobenzoic acid and 3-nitrophtalic acid. Steric factors r(not equal)/r(1), evaluated from dependences of charge transfer rate constants on inhibitor concentrations, were found to be about 4. They are two times higher than those found earlier for electrodeposition reactions and point to the almost flat orientation of reactant molecules on the electrode surface.